


strange songs from the sea

by betaouma



Category: Bloodborne (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Selkies, despite being about selkies there are no marriage related tropes here, many elements from canon still exist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:00:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28534806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betaouma/pseuds/betaouma
Summary: Sponsored by the scholars of Yharnam, Henry moves to the seaside to get his studies and his health in order.He finds that there is more to the creatures of the ocean than what he first assumed.
Relationships: Alfred/The Hunter (Bloodborne)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	strange songs from the sea

**Author's Note:**

> _"i have 2 braincells: a seal braincell and an alfredhunter braincell and theyre currently trying to fuse god help me im getting dumber"_ —me conceptualizing this story
> 
> the fishing hamlet is actually a normal place to live in this one. as long as you want to hear about our lord and savior kos that is
> 
> henry is my au version of the hunter he looks similar to the hunter shown in the figures/official merch he just has a name now

_Port town_ was an overstatement.

Henry had found that out the second he’d set foot into the little village. But that had been months ago, before the sale of the house was finalized. Whatever he thought of the seaside town before, now he’d be calling it home.

Henry Brough was a man of forty years. He primarily worked as a researcher of marine biology. That sort of study had often left him subject to teasing from his peers, but since childhood the ocean had always called to him. Ironically, he had never been able to set foot near it before. Being a sickly man, he’d spent most of his days bound to a small village tucked away in the woods near Yharnam. Now, with the advent of new medical advancements he had found it within himself to travel and pursue his studies. Impressed by his spirit, the scholars of Yharnam had offered him a position, and a new home—the Fishing Hamlet.

Despite only just arriving, he thought he knew exactly why the town hadn’t grown much. While it was close enough to the city of Yharnam to make travel to and from there for work doable—what Henry planned to do himself—it was tucked away on the coast, and more importantly, the weather was disagreeable. Thanks to the terrain around the village, the buildings and the surrounding land were always draped in a thick fog. Visibility was limited as he made his way down the road to the house that was to be his new home.

The scent of fish held heavy in the air, not only because of the proximity to the ocean but because of the barrels of fish peppering the town's bustling marketplace. All around him, townsfolk seemed to be occupying themselves with fish, whether it be preparing their nets to catch, or preparing to sell to the neighboring towns. Henry could feel, in that moment, how obvious it was that he was an outsider. A Yharnamite like him stuck out like a sore thumb.

Reaching the house, Henry took a key from his coat pocket and unlocked the door. Upon opening it, he could see that all of his belongings were already there—in boxes methodically stacked in the middle of his floor. He'd hired two stocky fellows to help with the move. Evidently, they had done their job well. A glance at the clock confirmed what looking at the gray fog outside could not: it was afternoon. For an hour or so, Henry kept himself busy unpacking the boxes, putting away kitchenware and books and clothes. The house was small, but he noticed no water stains inside as he made his rounds putting everything away. It at least kept the water out well enough. His furniture was there too, and he took the time to arrange it how he thought he’d like it. He only stopped when his back and joints ached so much he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Henry had never been in particularly good health. Other than wanting to live in the port town out of fascination for the ocean and all of its creatures, he had also heard good things about the healing effect of the ocean. In his youth, people had always advised his parents that moving to the water would do wonders for him. Now, in his adulthood, he had the chance to do it on his own. Putting on his coat and a hat to protect from the weather, Henry left the house.

Unlike Yharnam, the town had no church. This didn’t keep them from having a god, however. Kos, the mother of the sea. All Yharnamites knew of the Great Ones, and Kos was no exception. The carriage-owner who had brought him had explained: “Many years ago, a gigantic whale carcass washed ashore. It was still fresh and supplied the town with a bounty of materials. The folks here took it as a blessing from Kos, and began to worship her”—among many other tales.

He could only nod placidly in response to such things. No gods had ever tried to help him, not that he particularly felt that he deserved it. Still, he found some beauty in their worship. Perhaps there was such a being that would look out for this place. Perhaps she did have some kind of otherworldly power. Mere man like him couldn’t be the one to disprove it. Ultimately, he just saw it as a bunch of hogwash. 

Still, many townsfolk insisted on challenging his beliefs—trying to prove to him that Kos really was real. It seemed that it was customary to greet newcomers with stories of Kos, and the greeting-crowd could sense his lack of passion about the topic. In times like these, Henry was glad he didn’t speak much. The other townspeople eventually let him alone about the matter, after admonishing him that he shouldn’t be so quick to disregard things like the Great Ones. He was used to that kind of attitude. Wherever he went, stories of the Great Ones were always present. They had a right to believe, though, even if he’d never experienced anything that convinced him to himself. If miracles really did come true, even if they were by pure coincidence—he would believe too. Not wanting to bother with it anymore, he slipped away from the town to walk down to the shore. As he left, heading down a small packed-dirt path that led to the shoreline, he could feel them watching him. Talking about him. He was a man from outside, one who didn’t _really_ believe and didn’t belong there.

The fog hadn’t let up, but he could just see the orange streaks of the setting sun in the murky sky. Waves crashed against large rocks on the shore as Henry stood there, taking in the sights and the sounds of the ocean. He was sure that eventually he’d come to resent the fog and the cold, wet air, but he’d enjoy it while he still could. For now, he felt more refreshed than he had in months.

He must have stood there for a while, lost in the endless gray haze, when something caught his eye. On the stretch of beach to the right, some ways away, were many dark shapes clustered together. They almost looked like rocks, if a large number of rocks would really be all together on one part of the beach like that. But they weren’t rocks. Some of them were moving, and he almost wondered if these were the _strange things_ and the _doings of Kos_ his new neighbors had spoken about. But it wasn’t that either.

 _Seals_ , he realized as he drew closer. It was foggy, but he could still see them well enough. The seals were lying on the beach, some on their sides, some on their stomachs, sleeping or moving about. He’d never seen animals like that with his own eyes before, and, recalling his line of study, he began to approach them.

There was something a little strange-looking among them. It was a smaller thing, the same color as the pack. It was limp, however, like a piece of animal-skin strewn and abandoned on the jagged coastal rocks. An absent coat, maybe? He couldn’t make out what it was at all, what with the distance and all the fog, but maybe if he wasn’t so far away—

“I wouldn’t go any closer if I were you.”

Henry froze in his tracks. With the constant roar of the waves, he hadn’t heard anything that gave away the fact that he wasn’t alone on the beach. “Yes?” he asked, slowly turning to see a man approaching him.

He had light-green eyes and wavy blonde hair with the texture of seaweed, almost as if it was damaged by salt water. Hair covered his face, most prominently on the sides—sideburns were a common style for men, after all. He had strongly defined features, the most prominent of which was his nose. Usually, Henry wouldn’t spend so much time invested into a man’s face, but with the peculiar situation it was hard to keep himself from studying every little detail.

“Those seals don’t like being approached by people,” the man said, coming to a stop in front of Henry. “It upsets them greatly...if it’s pupping season, the mothers might even become upset enough to abandon their babies and return to the sea.”

“...Oh. You know about seals?” Henry asked. He would take the man talking to him about mundane things like animals instead of muttering about how he was a strange outsider as an improvement.

“Fishermen like myself are basically akin to them!” the man jubilated. “Outsiders from the city like to come along and disturb the things—it does poorly on their health. You’re a Yharnamite yourself, aren’t you? You don’t _seem_ to be from around here.”

Henry supposed fishermen and seals were similar—they competed for the same fish, after all. At the man’s question, he shrugged. “Kind of. But I came to live here. I moved in today.”

“Well, that’s something you don’t hear every day! I live here too.” The man’s demeanor brightened as Henry turned from the strange person who might hurt the local wildlife to a new neighbor. “You may call me Alfred.”

Henry nodded. “Ah.” The silence between them stretched on and he felt awkward. He cleared his throat, realizing he’d been very rude just then. “My name is Henry.”

“If you’d like, I could escort you back to town,” Alfred offered. “The sun will be setting soon. Around here, there are rumors of unsightly things appearing by the shore in the dark.” His tone seemed joking and insincere, but—Henry honestly wasn’t quite sure.

Not wanting to potentially anger the man, Henry shrugged and went along with it. “Well, I would certainly hate to be caught by one of those.”

They walked back up to the long grass bordering the sand. Henry grimaced with every step he took—saltwater had soaked into his formal shoes and in all likelihood had ruined the leather.

“Do you have any other clothing?” Alfred questioned, noticing Henry looking at his shoes. “The sea has a way of soiling pretty things...all of your nice clothes will be ruined in no time.”

“I do, but walking on the beach in such formal clothes was a mistake. I will keep that in mind,” Henry said, a little distracted. Thanks to the funds he’d used moving, he couldn’t justify buying another pair of nice shoes to replace his ruined pair, but if he put them by the fireplace in time he might be able to save them. In fact, all he wanted to do at this point was return home and sit by the fire.

The approach of night hadn’t seemed to thin out the fog. If anything, the heavy mists looked even thicker than before, the town only visible by the hazy spots of light somewhere in front of them. It was certainly colder, too, and Henry pulled his coat tighter around himself to ward away the chilly air. The fireplace back home seemed like a very nice prospect.

“Thank you,” he said once they’d set foot back onto the town’s streets. “I can make my way home from here.” 

It was then that Henry realized the man who had been previously walking right next to him had disappeared. He was speaking to nothing but the air next to him. Perhaps he had made a quick exit while Henry was preoccupied? He took a moment to ponder upon it—it was understandable. They had only just met, it might be awkward to accompany him the entire way home.

Pushing the thought from his mind, he headed home. The first thing he did was light a fire in the fireplace, the crackling flames quickly filling the small room with golden warmth. Henry sighed, feeling his muscles relax now that it wasn’t so cold. Shedding his coat and shoes, he placed them by the fire and then headed to the kitchen to prepare himself dinner.

Later that night, as he was falling asleep, Henry thought he could still hear the waves.


End file.
